criminal law and procedure

Impoverished, or unable to afford the necessities of life. A defendant who is indigent has a constitutional right to court-appointed representation, according to a 1963 Supreme Court decision, </>Gideon v. Wainright.

A crime that the prosecutor can charge by bringing evidence of it to the grand jury. These are serious crimes that include murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, grand theft, robbery, burglary, arson, conspiracy, and fraud, as well as attempts to commit them.

A prison sentence that consists of a range of years (such as "five to ten years"). The state parole board holds hearings that determine when, during that range, the convicted person will be eligible for parole. The principle behind indeterminate sentences is the hope that prison will rehabilitate some prisoners; those who show the most progress will be paroled closer to the minimum term than those who do not. Compare: determinate sentence

Revealing one's genitals under circumstances likely to offend others. Exposure is indecent under the law whenever a reasonable person would or should know that his act may be seen by others--for example, in a public place or through an open window--and that it is likely to cause affront or alarm. Indecent exposure is considered a misdemeanor in most states.

Sexual contact between close blood relatives, including brothers and sisters, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, or aunts or uncles with nephews or nieces; 18 states also include copulation or cohabitation between first cousins in the definition of incest. Incest is a crime in all states, even if consensual by both parties.

A term derived from the Latin "in propria persona," meaning "for one's self," used in some states to describe a person who handles his or her own case, without a lawyer. In other states, the term pro se is used. When a nonlawyer files his or her own legal papers, that party is expected to write "in pro per" under his or her name in the heading on the first page.